A wave of inexplicable emotion washed over him. Lin Yu stepped forward and hugged the girl tightly. This time, he didnât blush.
"My Lord!"
"This is so nice!"
The girlâs soft murmur reached Lin Yuâs ears.
After a long moment, Lin Yu let go of the girl. "See? You can rest assured now. I donât hate you!"
"Mhm!" The girl nodded gently. A breeze swept by, making her beautiful hair flutter. She seemed to love the wind, spreading her arms to welcome it and revealing her graceful figure in its entirety.
Lin Yuâs eyes widened, and he froze on the spot, completely dumbfounded.
"My Lord, what are you looking at?"
Her ethereal voice snapped Lin Yu back to reality. The breeze had passed, and the girl had turned to look at him again.
"Oh, uh. Sorry, I zoned out for a second."
"Right, whatâs your name?"
Lin Yu quickly turned his head away, his face bright red as he gazed into the distance.
"A name? Whatâs that?"
"Itâs what people call you. If you donât have a name, how should I address you?"
"We little elves donât use names. Everyone just naturally knows who I am!"
"But youâre not a little elf anymore!"
"Oh? Thatâs right!"
Only then did it dawn on the girl that she was no longer a little elf.
"My Lord, what am I now?"
"Youâre a person now, like me. Youâre an... elf," Lin Yu hesitated.
"Are you an elf, My Lord?"
"No, Iâm human. But theyâre more or less the same."
"Oh, okay. So Iâm an Elf-man?"
"Thatâs right, an Elf-man."
"So, I have to have a name, and I have to wear clothes?"
"Yes, you need a name. As for clothes, you have to wear them when youâre outside. You donât have to wear them at home, like when youâre bathing," Lin Yu explained patiently.
The girl looked down in thought, then gave a slight wave of her hand. A breeze carried tender leaves to swirl around her body.
"Hee hee, Iâve got it! I can make my own clothes."
In an instant, the tender leaves transformed into a long, green dress that covered the girlâs entire body. Lin Yu finally let out a sigh of relief. âHaving a beautiful girl standing beside him completely naked was way too much pressure.â
"But, My Lord, how do you choose a name?"
"Take me, for example. My name is Lin Yu."
"Arenât you called My Lord?" the girl asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Lord is my position, my status. Within the territory, you can call me My Lord, or Lin Yu, or Lord Lin Yu. Shadow calls me Master."
Lin Yu continued to explain patiently.
"Itâs so complicated, so difficult!" the girl muttered with a frown, looking utterly pitiable.
Lin Yu couldnât bear to see her looking like that, so he offered, "How about I choose a name for you?"
"Yes, please!"
"Youâre the first elf in the territory to evolve from a little elf. You represent the hope of the little elves and the rebirth of your kind. So, Iâll call you Chenxi."
"Wonderful! I have a name! Iâm Chen... xi!"
"Hee hee... Lin... Chenxi!"
Watching the girlâno, Chenxiâsound out her new name syllable by syllable, Lin Yu smiled happily as well.
After a while, Chenxi finally quieted down.
"Chenxi! Come here, let me see your stats."
Hearing Lin Yuâs call, Chenxi cheerfully ran to his side.
[Name]: Chenxi (Hero)
[Race]: Primordial Elf
[Grade]: Legendary (Gold)
[Level]: 1
[Attack]: 2080
[Speed]: 5200
[Defense]: 2600
[Health]: 6240
[Skill]: Natural Energy Control
[Talent]: Child of Nature
[Natural Energy Control]: Control the natural energy within oneâs body and in the natural world. Natural energy will change in accordance with the userâs imagination.
[Child of Nature]: When wielding the power of nature, energy cost is reduced by 50% and power is increased by 100%.
While in a natural environment, natural energy recovery rate is increased by 100%.
Is under the protection of nature.
*Hiss...*
Chenxiâs stats were terrifying, and she was only level one. It was no exaggeration to say that if sheâd used even a little bit of strength when she hugged him earlier, it would have been game over for Lin Yu.
Her only skill, "Natural Energy Control," was also incredibly powerful. One could say it had no limits, its only ceiling being the userâs own imagination.
This was also how Chenxi had been able to conjure a dress for herself. As long as she could imagine it, natural energy could make it happen.
"Master, who is she? Where did the fruit go?"
A voice suddenly sounded from behind Lin Yu.
"Shadow?" Lin Yu jumped.
"Shadow, donât sneak up behind me and talk like that. Itâs really startling."
"Yes, Master!"
Shadow lowered his head, acknowledging his mistake.
"Sheâs your wifeâs friend. Donât you recognize her? Since sheâs come out, the fruit is gone, obviously!"
Shadowâs eyes widened in disbelief.
"Isnât she supposed to be one of those round, green little elves? How did she end up looking so much like you, Master?"
"Werenât you the one who said she was researching how to become a hero and ended up turning herself into that fruit?"
"Well, she succeeded, so naturally sheâs changed."
Lin Yu found this odd. âShadow was the one who brought me here, so how could he not recognize Chenxi now that sheâs emerged?â
"Wait, Master. Are you saying sheâs my wifeâs best friend, that she became a hero and turned into... this?"
"Of course!"
*Hiss...* "Little elves sure are strange. I didnât change my appearance when I became a hero."
"Uh..." Lin Yu didnât know what to say. "Maybe itâs a trait of the little elves? Theyâre highly malleable?"
"Thatâs it!" Shadow suddenly understood. "Itâs just like when the little elves were researching how to reproduce, and a whole bunch of them turned into Slimes. So now, to become a hero, they turn into... they turn into..."
"Elves,"
"They turn into elves!" Shadow finished, then looked at Chenxi, who had interjected. "Can you still produce natural energy?"
"Not anymore," Chenxi said, sounding crestfallen. "Iâm not a little elf anymore."
"Hey, itâs alright! Those Slimes are living pretty well now, arenât they? Donât be sad."
"Iâm not sad. I became a hero, so I can do more to help my Lord. I was just thinking that since Iâm not a little elf anymore, I canât attend the Little Elf Council and persuade the others to become heroes."
Chenxi quickly explained.
"Hold on, what are you two talking about? Slimes? The Little Elf Council?"
Lin Yu, who had been listening from the side in a complete fog, interrupted the conversation between the wolf and the elf.
âIt feels like the territory changed a lot while I was away,â he thought. âIâm feeling a little behind the times.â
"My Lord, I can tell you! I took part in the Slime experiments, too."
Chenxi pulled Lin Yu aside and began to tell him everything: the changes the little elves had gone through since he left, why they started researching reproduction, how the Little Elf Council was formed, and what happened after.
Lin Yuâs eyes lit up as he listened, completely fascinated by the story.
"Chenxi, youâre good friends with Shadowâs wife, right? Why donât you go to his home and see her? Iâm going to head back to the heart of the territory to check on its statusâI still havenât looked at the information from the upgrade. Tomorrow... no, the day after tomorrow, Iâll have you both over again!"
"Okay! See you the day after tomorrow, My Lord!"
"See you the day after tomorrow, Master!"
"See you the day after tomorrow!"